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Sunday, March 18, 2012

What Causes Ignorance?

What are the Causes of Ignorance? First:Ignorance is not seeing and not knowing the4 Noble Truths fully!

The near and proximate cause is:Ignorance comes into being caused by the 5 mental hindrances!That is right here and now:Ignorance grows up caused by desire and lust...Ignorance arises caused by aversion and ill-will...Ignorance emerges caused by lethargy and laziness...Ignorance appears caused by restlessness and regret...Ignorance comes into being caused by doubt and uncertainty...All these 5 factors will obscure, obstruct and distort the 4 truths!

The remote and subtle cause is fermentation ~ assuming and supposing:Conditioned by mental fermentation (āsava) does ignorance emerge:That is multi-factorially, on the long-term, as a hidden latent tendency:Ignorance is caused by the mental fermentation linked to sense-desire.Ignorance is caused by the mental fermentation associated with views.Ignorance is caused by the mental fermentation coupled with becoming.Ignorance is caused by the mental fermentation joined with ignorance itself!

The emotional causal component is:Ignorance is caused by a feeling of neutral indifference, since this absenceof both pleasure and pain promotes neglect disabling examination, which thenlogically results in not knowing the specifics of the object = ignorance...

The Blessed Buddha said: Bhikkhus, a beginning of ignorance cannot be pointed out in this way:Before this point in time, there was no ignorance, afterward it came.But, Bhikkhus, it can be pointed out in this way:Caused by this, ignorance comes to be. Bhikkhus, I tell you, ignorance toohas a causing condition! What is the causing condition of ignorance?The five mental hindrances is the correct answer... Source: AN X 61, AN X 62

What is ignorance, what is the origin of ignorance, what is the ceasing ofignorance, and what is the way leading to the ceasing of ignorance?Not knowing about suffering, not knowing about the origin of suffering,not knowing about the ceasing of suffering, not knowing about the wayleading to the ceasing of suffering, this is called ignorance!With the arising of the mental fermentations, ignorance also arises.With the ceasing of the mental fermentations, ignorance also ceases!The way leading to the ceasing of ignorance is just this Noble 8-fold Way:That is: Right view, right motivation, right speech, right action, right livelihood,right effort, right awareness, and right concentration.Source: MN 9